India, April 4 -- The effects of climate change are being felt ever more strongly in the Kashmir Valley with each passing year. The latest to feel the impact is the region's traditional cricket bat making industry.

According to a research paper published in the International Journal of Educational Research and Technology titled Growth Performance and Challenges of Cricket Bat Industry of Kashmir, the Valley has a bat-making tradition that spans more than a century.

Around three million cricket bats are manufactured annually in Kashmir, supplying domestic and international markets, says Fawzul Kabeer, spokesperson of the Cricket Bat Manufacturing Association of Kashmir (CBMAK). More than 150 bat manufacturing units and retail shops opera...